Audio version of Professor Glenn Diesen’s latest article on censorship:-
EXTRACT:
The first stage towards normalising censorship and cancellation is to set a precedent with a seemingly minor and justified case, which can be framed as protecting the public rather than being an act of oppression. The initial censorship must be supported by reasonable moral or security concerns to achieve consent from the public, and the target should be a despised fringe actor. In the beginning, the government will not involve itself directly and limits itself to cautiously expressing understanding for the censorship and cancellation. Even the word censorship is avoided and replaced with “content moderation” and “de-platforming”. Vague concepts such as “hate speech” and “propaganda” are used to justify censorship as they cannot be clearly defined. The vagueness of these concepts allows for incrementally expanding the range of speech that is criminalised and to apply censorship selectively. Support from the intelligence agencies and media is imperative to convince the public that free speech is a privilege and not a right. Gradually, censorship is normalised among the public and the need to justify it goes away.
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